Chowder and Champions
Fansided

Baseball Hall of Fame: Taking a Look at the 2017 Ballot

By DJ Smith

Jun 1, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Chicago Cubs hitting consultant Manny Ramirez looks on before a game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 1, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Chicago Cubs hitting consultant Manny Ramirez looks on before a game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Who will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017?

On Wednesday Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey Jr. were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and while everyone is talking about this years class I’m already looking at the 2017 ballot.

Joining the likes of Curt Schilling, Trevor Hoffman, and Roger Clemens on the ballot, Ivan Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and Vladimir Guerrero will also be on the ballot for the first time.

This ballot is actually pretty stacked, if you saw my tweet on Wednesday I laid out who I thought should be inducted.

So with only one name being inducted this year, I’m still holding that Clemens, Bonds, Schilling and Edgar Martinez deserve to be inducted. But if I had to include someone from the new class of 2017 I would cast my vote for Vladimir Guerrero and here’s why.

Vlad was such the rock of the Angels team during the early and mid-2000s’ and every time the Red Sox played them I would get worried about Vlad hitting a home run that would land on the moon that night. If you look at his statistics he’s obviously a Hall of Famer, but the reason I’m giving him the edge over Manny in his first year is because there hasn’t been any steroid or PED allegations towards Guerrero.

More from Chowder and Champions

Manny of course was suspended in 2009 for testing positive for steroids, and then again tested positive for PEDs in 2011. If Manny Ramirez thinks he’s getting into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot he’s sorely mistaken. If guys like Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds aren’t in yet, then Manny will surely have to wait as well.

But will Manny be inducted one day? I sure hope so, for as important as Vladimir Guerrero was to the Angels, Manny was that and then some with the Red Sox.

Next: Red Sox Winter Weekend Attendees Announced

Hopefully in time the baseball writers will begin to take a look at the larger body of work that guys like Ramirez, Bonds, and Clemens have put in and not just a drug report.

Home/Boston Red Sox